Stating the Singapore GP was eventful would be a gross understatement. The delayed race on the street circuit saw plenty of drama and six retirements. The rain definitely played a part in the retirements. However, it could’ve also played a part in deciding the race winner between Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc.

During one of the many safety car periods, the Mexican, while leading the race and the pack, made a grave error. Perez left a lot of distance between himself and the safety car. Now there’s a rule which states that the leading car cannot leave a distance of more than ten car lengths from the safety car.

Perez did exactly that a couple of times during the physical safety car period threatening his race win. However, the Red Bull man got an opportunity to plead his case in front of race control. The race winner stated that the conditions were wet and difficult to closely follow the safety car.

After hearing Perez’s statement, the FIA stewards made their decision and released a statement. The stewards said they “do not accept that the conditions were such as to make it impossible or dangerous for PER to have maintained the required less than 10 car length gap. However, added that they “took into account the wet conditions and the difficulties highlighted by PER as mitigatory circumstances for this incident.”

Read More: Understanding the Safety Car Situation Threatening Sergio Perez’s Win

However, Perez did receive a five-second penalty for ignoring a caution from race control. This contradicting statement, read by multiple people, from FIA is a confusing one.

Sergio Perez narrowly escapes defeat with the FIA contradicting itself

In the statement, the stewards do not agree the conditions were difficult enough to closely follow the safety car. However, in the next statement, they agree with Perez’s reasoning. The hilarious contradiction from FIA is being mocked heavily by the fans on Twitter. The fact the FIA still handed Perez a five-second penalty for ignoring the same warning makes it more confusing.

Some fans are even calling out the FIA’s contradictory statement and the delayed decision as a bid to create drama and rig the race. The accusations might be a bit of a stretch, but FIA’s rulings have been inconsistent as we’ve witnessed in the past as well.

This situation with Perez does not help their case.